I am often surprised by how the seemingly simple choices I make affect me in larger ways.
My choice to settle in to the place I live, instead of holding myself back. My choice to play around with mobile photography and see my everyday in new ways. My choice to spend less time on the computer and more time in the woods. All are simple choices, but they have come together in a profound way.
I didn’t quite realize it until my Mom emailed me with a comment this week after my Silent Communication blog post, and I wrote back, “I am falling in love with Corvallis all over again.” I am. I am seeing what this place has to offer me, as it is.
It was a choice. I could have continued to hold myself apart. I could have continued to wish I was somewhere else or that Corvallis was something other than it is. I could have continued to hang on to who I was in a previous time and place. But I would have missed what was right in front of me for the taking.
We have choices in how we approach our life, even if we don’t feel we do. A lot of that choice is around accepting where we are or how things are. And by accepting what is, you open yourself up to what could be. The phrase “bloom where you are planted” comes to mind.
We could be planted in the rockiest soil, but that may be exactly what we need to bloom. We just have to let our roots grow, and find the nourishment waiting for us in the earth below.
I’ve talked about this shift for me here on the blog often over the last six or eight months. I’m now realizing how deep this concept of choosing acceptance can go. It can mean the difference between dissatisfaction and happiness.
This doesn’t mean we need to stay in a place or a situation that doesn’t feed our soul. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t make plans or strive for change. But having a measure of acceptance for what is can lead to greater appreciation and happiness of our current state. If you aren’t happy with where you are now, will you truly be happy in some new situation? We often think changing the place or the job or our body is the answer to our woes, when the answer truly lies within. It is available to us in the choices we make.
I choose to accept what is. I choose to be open to what is available to me right now. I choose happiness.
Exactly what my last few blog posts have addressed.
The life changes I was forced to make were not a choice,
but the result is the same.
I read your blog faithfully although I just “Like” in FaceBook
instead of commenting.
Love your photos and your thoughts about your photo journey.
Amen, sister! It’s taken me a long time to learn that i can choose happiness.
It’s requires an attitude adjustment and sense of gratitude for what we have.
It does all start within.
I love this post. “Bloom where you are planted” – that’s exactly what I’m doing right now. I’ve lived in my current town for nearly 10 years and I’m just now really getting to know it. I always thought I had to move to new surroundings to change how I felt. I’ve finally figured out that it’s mainly perception, for me anyway. Another great post – thank you. =)
I LOVE this post! Such an important thing to be aware of.
Thank you for this posting. I too am a big ‘fan’ of acceptance. It often seems that fighting against what is can cause so much unhappiness and even paralyze a person. My personal guide would be Helen Keller — how easy it would have been for this child to give up — but she learned to accept what was and then to go forward – to live a full, rich life in spite of a lack of hearing and sight. Without acceptance I don’t think there is any forward movement.
Very thought provoking–as usual.
Diane Jarvis-Schuller received one of my “Liberate Your Art” postcards. Thankfully, she chose to contact me. As a result, I discovered her wonderful blog, which contained the following thought/quote that day:
“The present moment is the substance with which the future is made. Therefore, the best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment. What else can you do?” Â -Thich Nhat Hanh
Being in the moment is a choice–and it can make all the difference.
Thanks.
That is the perfect quote! The choice does make all the difference.
I’m so right here with you on this. We do get to choose…and that choosing acceptance over resistance and fear can make all the difference in how happy we might be. Beautiful post!
Making a choice, even about something simple like, I choose to do this or do that or choose to be here, be quiet or busy frees me from so much angst or guilt and frees me from ‘should have…’ ‘should be…’ such a good post (again).
Yes! I completely agree.